


In need

by lilplainjane



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Room of Requirement, Slight Weasley Bashing, Slow Burn, more characters to add - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25185625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilplainjane/pseuds/lilplainjane
Summary: “I need your help Granger” he whispered in a hurried voice, though there was no one there to listen.“With what?” She asked with feigned curiosity, snapping her book shut due to his presence being all the more closer.“I need you to help me write a letter. One for a girl, I think I love her”-Harry Potter and Hermione Granger have spoken six times in their times at Hogwarts, they were barely acquainted. It's not until Dumbldore sets Harry on Hermione's path that things begin to change.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Kudos: 16





	In need

**Author's Note:**

> hey ! do go easy on me but feedback is heavily appreciated ~

Hermione was curled onto the seat closed to the dying fire in the Gryffindor common room. She had somehow squeezed herself onto it in a way that it no one would be able to see her unless they came around the front of the chair, the only giveaway being her long, bushy hair that sat against the edge of the chair, untamed locks falling over the chair. 

She was reading the book she had been dying the finish since she started it on the train to Hogwarts. It was a cheesy, cliche, mushy love novel and Hermione had been eating it up. It’s all she was thinking about through the sorting if the first years, through the dinner as the people around her discussed how excited they were to begin sixths year.

Hermione had been here five years and starting her sixth too, two more years of this place before she could go on to greater things was the most thought away from the book she had all night.

It wasn’t like the book was magical or anything, with a mind binding charm to keep her mind on it, it was just... amazing to her, it baffled her to how much she enjoyed it too but it was just so engaging.

Usually, Hermione wasn’t one to read these kinds of books. She used to be one of those people who turned her head up at them and she still probably would there was just something about this particular one that tickled her fancy.

It was called _The cycle_.

It would’ve never been something she would’ve picked up, if it was in a book store she would’ve scoffed and turned her nose up at it. It was only because she found it in the basement of her home and was kept to the upmost boredom she even batted an eyelid in its direction. When she brought it down, she watched as her mother turned red when she brought up that she found it. How her mother stumbled over her words flustered about the book's name is said. It was odd seeing her in that way, it piqued Hermione’s interest. 

Hermione was going to read it, she was going to finish it before the summer ended yet she found herself procrastinating it until she was on the train to Hogwarts again. It was just after Lavender Brown had come into her compartment and passive-aggressively told her all about why she should be more insecure than she already was when she remembered she had brought it with her. 

Through her light sniffles in the corner of her lonesome compartment, she opened its ruffled pages and began reading, mostly to distract herself from the numbing feeling in her stomach that Lavender left for her. 

As it was magic, the feeling disappeared as the pages kept growing. The only reason Hermione knew the train stopped was the teachers doing a check of the compartments and Professor McGonagall rapping her knuckles on the glass with a weak smile. 

The book was simple enough in its manner, a delicate love story between a man and a woman that blossoms beyond their control. It has a twist as every romance novel does, Twilight had vampires and almost every author has written one about pirates or magic beings. This one was somewhat different then to what she had heard of through the hurried whispers of her mother's friends. It was in a university setting, that was the first thing you as the reader learned. The reader had moved cross country to escape her mother and father who are described as awful beings. She, the protagonist has a rocky beginning, she doesn’t fit in well and the classic mean girl made that known to her. The protagonist, Dahlia then meets her soon to be best friend rose, an alternative being. She plays the role of the gay best friend, showing Dahlia the way of being cool and unbothered. Well on her way she keeps having interactions with a mysterious boy, the talk of the year, Easton was the character mysterious and cool and a total babe but had some sort of tragic backstory to make the reader feel for him differently. Finally, after some time he’s caught the protagonist alone, they talk, she’s cautious, he’s confident. They get close until their lips meet and suddenly its like magic or at least that’s how the author describes it. The twist is quite strange but familiar at the same time, Easton is a time lord and travels through to save Dahlia’s timeline for destruction. 

Hermione was enwrapped in it. There were three chapters left, almost two. Easton and Dahlia went forward in time to show Dahlia the world they will face if he doesn’t change something from her year. She asks what, but he doesn’t answer. They fight and keep fighting until Easton lets it slip. He has to commit murder, but that doesn’t make sense. Dahlia knew he had killed before, Dahlia didn’t care. Maybe it was her best friend he had to kill, but she didn’t have time to ask before he disappeared. Rose comforts Dahlia, they kiss and then Dahlia starts ignoring Rose. 

Why was she so hooked? She’d read it as if it were a book series, she had tears in her eyes about it for goodness sake. Time passed faster than Hermione realized but she was so close to being finished.

Rose and Easton were getting closer, Dahlia seemed lost out of her wits. She was jealous and confused, Easton and Rose went from hurried whispers to strange and sad. Dahlia went on a date with a character who was irrelevant. Easton and Dahlia fought again, this time Rosie was there and very quiet. She accused them of being in a relationship, Rose snaps at Dahlia expressing her sexuality for the nth time. Easton defends her and Dahlia starts to cry. Easton lets it slip, the one big secret he and Rosie have been hiding from her- the one that she had been waiting for, hours since she started the book. It was one line away, tears were streaming down her face as she held back the restrain to skip the line ahead. 

_“I can’t tell you, Dahlia, because-“_

A cough interrupted her. 

Hermione's head shot up from the book as she let out a gasp, her head swinging back and forth first to the clock, it was three-thirty in the morning. Was a teacher interrupting her? Was she sobbing on not realizing and someone had come down to tell her to shut up? Her head swung around again. To see who had snapped her from her concentration as she smacks the tears streaming down her eyes and looks up.

Shaggy, roughed up jet black hair and emerald green eyes blazed up down at her, in an awkward manner. One of his hands was behind his neck as he gave her a look of some concern partly for her well being partly too as if she was crazy but concern all the same. He was wearing track pants that were grey with a black shirt tucked into them along with a red and white flannel. How Gryffindor of him. It was dark, almost pitch black the only light illuminating from the small fire that was dim enough for her to see but bright enough to flash the scar that sat pointedly across his forehead. 

Of course, Harry fucking Potter was standing in front of her as she sobbed over her stupidly amazing romance novel.

Her hands instinctively covered the words of the book just in case the title was at the top of the page, embarrassed to be reading it in the first place, even more so to be crying over it like a child. She sniffled a little and covered her cheeks with her ratty pink sleeve making sure the tears were gone before she opened her mouth.

“Did I wake you? my apologies” she said quietly as she gave him a sombre look, he didn’t look as if he had been sleeping, but she took the precautions anyway. 

Hermione could count on her fingers how many times she had talked to Harry Potter, they didn’t have many interactions over the past six years. They weren’t friends, hell, they were barely acquaintances. Maybe it was always shit timing, maybe it was the fact that she could not stand his best friend Ronald Weasley but Hermione and Harry never had time t bond like he did the rest of their year. Hermione had thanked him once in their first year after he saved her from the mountain troll, once again in her second year after his apparent help with her paralysis, in the third year she defended him when Draco Malfoy was being a git and told him no problem when he thanked her, in the fourth year she praised him after the dragon match from the Triwizard tournament, in her fifth year she had thanked him once for allowing her into the DA and once more when he commented on how to perfect her patrons, a small otter. She had talked to Harry Potter six times in total over her school years so it didn’t make sense to her why he was an infant of her now, looking as if to ask something personal.  
“Are you.. okay?” He asked softly, his thumb rolling into his thumb on his hand, clearly nervous about something. She tutted her tongue and nodded, even snickering a little at her foolish behavior.

“Positively fine,” she said softly, her throat bobbled up and down as awkward tension filled the air, what in God's name could Harry bleeding potter want from her. “Yes well, um” Harry started, unnecessarily nervous for Hermione Granger. Was he going to ask her to do his homework or something? Her face dropped even more as time passed and an irritation quickly formed. He had interrupted her at the most crucial moment in time for her book, she wasn’t exactly pleased with him right now even more so since he was just taking all the time in the world.

“Do you realize the time?” Once again another excuse from the oh so great Harry Potter, Hermione tutted her tongue and glared up at him with less patience than before. She sighed and shook her head.

“What is it that you want Potter, I don’t know if you noticed but I've almost finished my book and you interrupted me at really the most interesting part so please, stop the procrastinating and out with it” Her cheeks were a little flushed, though it was nearly impossible to see within the dim light of the room. She hadn’t ever said more than ten words to him and now she’s snapped at him all because of a silly book. He seemed to panic for a second but overall find it a little amusing by the look in his eye that gleamed through. She only ever saw that twinkle when he had achieved something great. Was winding her up great to him? Hermione huffed out once more as the cogs in his head were turning. She watched him look around a little before kneeling to the ground, close to her book, and more importantly close to her. She gave him a curious look, it had been a while since someone had invaded her personal space the way he just had. Well, not unless it was Neville Longbottom, her favorite and only study partner.

It was truly as if he had gone hyper-paranoid within a matter of seconds, his eyes suddenly met hers, and her brows knitted together as she tried to work out what it was he needed from her. Surely not anything good. Once again the cogs turned in his brain as she watched him, she was trying to read his face but that was never one of her strengths. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down for a moment before he finally spoke.

“I need your help Granger” he whispered in a hurried voice, though there was no one there to listen. 

“With what?” She asked with feigned curiosity, snapping her book shut due to his presence being all the more closer.

“I need you to help me write a letter. One for a girl, I think I love her”

Hermione stared blankly at him for a second before leaning back and scoffing at her, was the boy delirious? Why would she help him get the girl? He didn’t need help to get the girl. He was him, the boy who lived, the infamous boy who’s life was never boring. A survivor, a winner, him. What girl would say no to that? Unless they were gay. Oh god was he going after a Rose? No, someone who didn’t take his shit. But who was that? Hermione racked her brain for s second trying the think of who that possibly could be, who he was trying to woo. It was apparent the look of confusion and repulsed look on her face because he sighed and dipped his head. Once again thinking of what to say, was it meant to be a code for something. Wrong Hermione perhaps? No one was here, who could be listening? Why the need? Harry looked up at her again, the same weird sparkle once more. 

“I was referred to you. Someone said you had the expertise on.. love. The girl I.. I’m in love with is difficult, guarded. She needs to be studied, she’s an um full enigma.. beautiful, but a puzzle” he continued, he looked uncomfortable to say it. What was he ratting on about? He looked so certainly uncertain that she understood what the hell he was on about. She tucked the book under her arm as she sat up. Hermione looked through the holes in his words, for the code he sought from her. “She’s.. she’s wise! An old soul, I need her Hermione... I need your help to discover her”

It clicked, a memory unlocked in her mind, one she didn’t think too much of until now. 

“Who has.. referred you to me? What knowledge could I possess that you need?” Hermione finally understood why he was nervous, paranoid, and speaking in code. This was beyond her, this was to do with you know who, the dark wizard himself. Hermione lowered her voice and the rest of her body to match his. The innuendo was met but only because of Professor Dumbledore’s advice to her the year prior as he returned to being their headmaster. It was there she voiced her insecurities to him, praying for him to give her some of his wisdom. 

_“Miss Granger, for the brightest witch of her age you do seem too unsure about yourself. help yourself find love, help others find love maybe then and there you’ll find the purpose that you so seek. Maybe someone will help you seek it who knows… who knows”_

It was the strangest thing, she opted to ignore it til now but it suddenly made sense. He must’ve just come back from the headmasters' office there would be no other reason to talk to her like this. Was it luck that she was awake, did Dumbledore know, can he see her? This was too strange for Hermione but she had to keep focused. 

“We’re soul mates you see... I see.. her.. in my dreams most nights. It’s almost hurting me Granger but I know she’s my destiny. I just know it” Harry said softly and Hermione had turned on the chair, shuffling as if it were to listen more intently. 

“Well, Harry.. I guess I can help, has this.. person specified why it was me that was needed and no one else? I’m sure there is someone better equipped more than I.. surely” She muttered in a low whisper looking behind Harry towards the corridor. She thought she saw a shadow, someone peeking through the corridors like they were listening. Her anxiety spiked. It has to be about Voldemort, it must be. They don’t talk to whisper and mutter under their breath like this, from afar it would almost look sensual the way their heads were so close and Hermione was leaned over her chair with her ass in the air. “No” he breathed softly as he chewed on his cheek, maybe he’d much rather do this alone however she had a strange sense that Dumbledore would rather him do it the hard way. “Alright,” she said quietly, still watching the place where she thought she saw the shadow towards the corridor. “We’ll need a place to meet.. your girl could have friends anywhere, it’d have to be around this time too... somewhere nobody would consider going, the room of requirement would be smart if we wanted to be extra safe-“ The shadow moved again and Hermione shut her mouth rather quickly as that shadow showed themselves.

Ronald Weasley, the weasel himself came out of the corridor looking as cocky as he ever did as he walked out in his Pyjama sweats and a sweater looking rather full of himself as he looked at the two. She didn’t know who pulled back faster, her who fell back into the chair, her ass hitting the book as her hands came into her lap, looking down at her now seemingly interesting hands or harry, who fell back from his sitting position and hissed as he hit the hard floor and looked over to Ron with a relieved smile. “Snogging where you Harry? Never thought of you of someone to go for _her_ ” he snickered as Hermione faltered.

Ron Weasley truly was the bane of her existence, the one thing worse than Draco Malfoy himself and he was a right old git. Harry sighed and put on something of a fake smile for his friend and let out a bemused chuckle. “Wouldn’t you like to know? How long were you perving around the corner huh? Or were you waiting for it to get good before you show yourself?” Harry chuckled as Hermione scoffed. Boys, disgusting little creetins they are. Hermione held the book to her hip as she stood up and snarled at Ron as she walked passed him. 

“Well Potter, tomorrow at the place and the time if your empty brain can remember as much” Hermione snapped as she walked passed and up the corridor. Hermione was going to punch that git one day and she was going to bloody well enjoy it. She could hear his teasing and pry at Harry for information about how good she was as if he would answer. Git.

Hermione was outside the dormitory when she remembered the book, it had completely left her mind up until this point. The burning irritation at Harry Potter once more came back as she flipped the book open to the page. This was it, this was the moment that she had stayed up till some ungodly hour on her first night back to school for this, she carried for this. This stupid, stupid book and she was going to find out why the hell Easton could not tell Dahlia what the fuck was going on, it was in her point of view for goodness sake!

_“I can’t tell you, Dahlia, because- I couldn’t it wasn’t fair!” He cried out as he reached for her shoulders she shoved him off viciously as she snarled_

_“Why not you ass! Why the hell not! You sure as hell couldn’t keep Rosie in the dark and I’ve known you longer! I thought we were closer!” She whimpered at him as if she were a lost puppy, Dahlia was on the brink of tears, some already dripping down her face. Easton couldn’t contain it anymore, it slipped out of his mouth. He broke a rule then a there, he told a patron of their future, he showed Mercy._

_“Because it is you! Your soul being is what will doom us, everything I’ve perfected within the timeline has come down to you Dahlia. It should’ve been easy like it was all the other times, get close, end them quickly. Save out timeline! I didn’t expect to fucking fall in love either Dahlia! But here I fucking am and Rose- Rose isn’t innocent either Dahl! She’s known since she met you, she isn’t any different from me. We’ve only just met but we have a lot more in common then you think” he hissed if he was going down he was going to drag my best friend with him. I didn't blame it, I was angry and hurt with the both of them._

_“You used me. You BOTH used me. I don't want to die, how dare you both!” She turned to look to rose “I wish I never met you” and back to Easton who looked pained to know what was coming “ and I certainly wish I never met you” she hissed at him looking she makes her exit. She wanted to run. It was only then when she processed that she needed to die. No, not needed she didn't need to, she wouldn’t know of the earth in three hundred years, what did it matter to her? It didn’t. She would outrun them. Screw them. She hated them both…_

Hermione snapped the book shut, end of the page besides she could hear footsteps coming up the way and she didn’t want to see the weasel again. Slipping into the dormitory door Hermione sighed as quietly as she could. She snuck over to her bed and hid in the covers. She wasn’t going to get much sleep today. Much less tomorrow.

* * *

Hermione didn’t sleep well in the few hours she had given herself to sleep. She tried as hard as she could but her mind would let up on it’s racing thoughts down the railway that was her train of thought. She wondered what Harry would exactly need from her, preexisting knowledge of her own or perhaps knowledge he’d need assistance in finding. Maybe he needed a human target practice, someone with a strong mind, someone who could handle borderline torture or better yet someone willing to keep quiet about it. Maybe it was all a game that the boys had set up, request her help then mercilessly humiliate her for their enjoyment. 

Hermione barely got an hour's sleep.

When she forced herself out of her bed with her charming comforter to give her extra warmth, she made a point to ignore the highly noticeable whispering Lavender Brown who was gushing over Ron Weasley as if to brag about him. How anyone could find the will power to describe him as anything other than repulsive was beyond her but somehow the girl found her “positively dreamy”. Hermione rolled her eyes as she held her bunched up robes in her hands pushing her exhausted body towards the ladies' washroom. 

Hermione took a shower, figuring she could skip breakfast and go up to the owlery later to collect her copy of the daily prophet and anything else that came through. Using a charm from the book “useful spells and potions for the everyday witch” Hermione dried her hair and pulled it up into a tight ponytail to sit atop her head, sliding on her Gryffindor colored robes. She lost herself in thought for a moment as she looked in the mirror. Hermione contemplated putting on the makeup that sat at the bottom of her hygiene bag then just as quickly thought against it. She reached up and touched her face, squishing her cheeks and pulling them in different directions, jumping as the mirror spoke. 

“Your face looks lovely dear, best hurry to class,” the mirror said in a pompous tone but it was kind all the same. 

Hermione bustled out of the room quickly and in the same fashion out of the common room. The mirror wasn’t meant to lie but then again there was nothing in _Hogwarts a History_ about it not taking pity. 

Her first class was potions with a new professor this year, not that Professor Snape was a bad teacher, she quite enjoyed potions after she learned to keep her mouth in his class but it was nice to have a change in teacher, it was always exciting. Hermione bustled along the hallway with a quick stride that almost became a jog to catch up with the last of the students entering the class. 

As she entered she noticed something that made her stomach lift, Weasley had quit potions. Hermione looked around the room, the tables had changed once more though people still sat with their house. Hermione usually sat with the Ravenclaws or Neville but Neville also seemed to quit potions and the Ravenclaws didn’t have any spots left on their table though they did send her smiles and waves. She awkwardly waved back at them and scanned the room for a spot. Everywhere was full except the Gryffindor table who only had Parvati Patil, Remilda Vain, and Harry bleeding Potter with a spot empty between the girls and him. Hermione sighed and made her way over to the table. 

She ignored the small snickers that the girls gave her as she set her books down on the table and took her seat next to him, keeping her head forward towards a chubby professor slug horn was showing off the example potions he had made especially for the potions class. She could see Harry in the corner of her eye, he wasn’t paying his full attention to Slughorn, rather giving her flickering glances when he felt no one was looking.

“For your first task,” Slughorn said rather excitedly, looking around the room with a rounded smile on his face “you shall make a draught of living death with your seatmate and of course the pair closest to perfecting the draught will share a vile of Felix Felicis as shown before!” He croaked beaming in Harry’s direction almost begging him to win with his eyes. Only then she looked to her side properly to watch him beam back, though looking hard enough made her realize how fake it was.

Hermione shifted her gaze to his ratted and old book and then to her new one, it was only when he let out the same small cough that she looked up at his face to meet his gaze. She quirked her brow, he let out an embarrassed sort of chuckle. “Didn’t know I was taking potions til about 15 minutes ago” he mumbled quietly “didn’t have time to buy the book. Did you get my owl?” Harry said this part a hell of a lot quieter. 

Harry sent her an owl? Why would he send her an owl when he could just talk to her in person?

“No,” she said curtly “I wasn’t at breakfast, didn’t sleep much. What was the point of an owl?” Everyone was off getting ingredients yet neither of them had moved yet. Harry peered around quickly “to be safe.. besides, it would be suspicious if we suddenly started talking wouldn’t it?” Hermione scoffed at his words and stood from the stool.

“ ‘Mione-“

“I’ll go get the ingredients Potter, and its HERmione thank you” Hermione couldn’t help being a little offended, it would be hard not to be when someone says Its suspicious to talk to you it does hurt even if its just a little. She watched Harry deflate a little in his chair as she strode off to where most people had finished gathering things. As she read from the ingredients list in her book she swished her wand around a little more aggressively than she usually would. They all followed her back to her table and the ingredients she didn’t deem precious with a small thud that made Harry jumped a little. 

“My book or yours?” He asked a little awkwardly, she made it more than obvious that she was annoyed at the very least. 

“I don’t care” she huffed as she tried to cut up the jumping beans with little success. As one flew up in the hair she reached to catch it, Harry had beat her too it but not by much. She shot a glare at him and he smiled a little.

“Seeker reflexes” he chuckled a little as she scoffed at him and shook her head and dipped her head so he wouldn’t see the small twitch if a smile that appeared on her face because of the goofy look on his face. 

As she took her head back up she watched him squish the beans with a knife. It was incorrect but it seemed more efficient to her, still, she had to complain. “The book specifically said to cut it” she piped up but Harry seemed to just smile and ignore her. The rest of the lesson went that was, she would quote the book and he would look down at his book and correct the potion to how it sees fit. It bewildered Hermione that the potion looked almost immaculate to the book's description though Harry was altering it. What bewildered her more was that it was perfect, perfect to where a potions master stood there baffled beyond the Cauldron. Harry sent her a sneaky smirk as Hermione stared at him agape. 

The two were handed vials as the rest of the class around them left the room, Slughorn singing their praise calling them the “Kings and Queens of potion-making”. Harry ate it up as if it was his last meal, the book tucked under his arm while Hermione humbled down and said she couldn’t have done it without him. It took them ten minutes to shake off Slughorn but not before they were both invited to what he called the. “Slug Club”. 

The name made Hermione want to laugh, she had to curl her lips in a way that held back any noise she could’ve made on accident. Both accepted graciously. They both walked out together, neither of them strayed as they walked through Hermione thought he would’ve been now. She had a free lesson and apparently, he did too from the awkwardly curt small talk they made before beginning their walk of silence. They had stayed silent until they approached the moving stairs, that’s where Harry grabbed her arm at least to stop her from stepping on.

“Listen- I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” he said, it took Hermione a second to understand what he was referring to but it came back into her memory just as quickly and irritated her once more. 

“Water under the bridge Potter, let me go” she huffed yanking her arm off him.

“No, you don’t understand ‘Mione. People will start talking about us- hell it wouldn’t surprise me if Ron hasn’t already blabbed his mouth to Dean and Seamus about last night and it certainly won’t get any better with Vain and Patil after today and how well we “worked together” and how “close we got”. I was trying to be discrete, the owl was to confirm what we agreed upon last night- what did you say? The place and the time? If my empty brain could remember that much?” His voice was raised to a yelling whisper as he was explaining himself. He had shown himself- Harry hot head.

“Like your owl landing in front of me was going to be discrete potter! Sending me love notes possibly? If you’re worried about discrete we could’ve talked about it at the pace and the time seeming as we both still remember it and I told you before it’s HERmione not ‘Mione, you don’t get to call me ‘Mione” Hermione hissed back at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. She reserved that nickname for her friends, well, Neville Longbottom and the Ravenclaws she’s somewhat friends with.

“I didn’t think of that did I?” He said a little sheepishly, though the frustration still seethed through his teeth. Hermione let out a sigh as she shook her head. 

“Its water under the bridge. I told you” Hermione swallowed. “It’s practicality just us in potions right..? We have it four out of the five days of the week and our frees by logic should be straight after it unless it’s at the end of the day” Hermione muttered, first asking the question then more muttering to herself as Harry nodded along as he started to pace. Hermione click her fingers, she had a lightbulb moment “What if we ‘ease’ into the relationship we’ll have. Slowly become friends and then quickly become what people describe as inseparable. It would make it a lot less suspicious that you’re whispering to me and us sneaking around wouldn’t be sneaking would it?” 

Harry stared at her up at, the weird spark of achievement beaming up at her like headlights. “Bloody brilliant Hermione! You’re a genius” he stopped his pacing quickly as he looked up at her and she couldn’t help but feel a little pride. 

“Yea yea,” She said sheepishly as he gushed her. Hermione wasn’t used to praising from peers, it made her feel strange. “The plan starts today- if you’re asked to give an off-handed comment about me and how I’m alright or something stupid like that so they will just blow it off. In the corridor of the room, ask for a comfortable meeting place that’s what I’ll do too. I’ll leave an hour before you do so it’s not suspicious at all. I’m going to go to the Owlery now. Read your pathetic note” She said softly and shot him a small smile. 

Harry nodded dumbly as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, Hermione had started shuffling the opposite direction a sudden pang of fear that she was to get caught. Hermione hardly broke the rules if at all, the only real-time she had was the year before the reign of Umbridge. This was necessary if it was what she thought it was. 

Hermione climbed the stairs to the tower, mulling it all over in her mind. The pros and cons of it all. The plan she had come up with on the spot, would they discuss it more that night? What else would they do? What if it was to humiliate her and Harry was in their common room telling Ron all about how he had her wrapped around his pinky finger. 

A white snowy owl seemed to recognize her as she came in, it screeched and flew up high into the roof where the undelivered mail was stored. Other owls screeched back at the snowy one, seemingly getting made for awakening them as she flew back down and perched herself in front of Hermione on the water basin. She squeaked out dropping the rolled-up parchment into Hermione’s hands as she held them out. 

“Thank you” she hummed to the owl who flew back up to join the other owls and huddle with them for warmth.

_The place is the ROR and the time is of the supernatural_

_I’m sure you’re smart enough to work out what the means._

_Just incase, burn this._

_BWL._

“Boy who lived? Imbecile” Hermione shook her head as she wandered down the stairs, daily prophet under her arm. Reaching for her wand in her pocket with a small smile She tapped it on the edge of the paper.

_“Incendio”_


End file.
